New ADD Diagnosis

[Justliloldme]

My daughter is 12 and she has just been diagnosed with ADD.

The pediatrician has said the next steps are for her to have a 'health check', height, weight, blood pressure etc with a view to her prescribing medication.

This is along side some ADD workshops for us as parents - she said we'll get a pack explaining everything.

I'm a little nervous about the medication aspect. I know this will help her but you hear so many negative stories & not s many positive ones, although I am sure there are many.

I guess I'm asking for anyone's experience of medication and if there's anything I should be asking or looking out for.

[Redpanda5]

My advice with medication is three things.....

1. Make sure the prescriber is an experienced pediatric psychiatrist - not your pediatrician. Medication management is all they do so they naturally are going to be better at prescribing. Our pediatrician luckily knew her limitations and referred us to a psychiatrist and I commend her for that.

2. Don’t be afraid to use medication. Your child isn’t on the same playing field as the rest of her peers. Medication will help her feel so much better once you find the right type/dose. Also, as they age they are at risk for self medicating if they aren’t on medication. Google this to ease your mind.

3. It’s a process so don’t give up when the first try doesn’t work (i.e. not appearing to do anything or giving bad symptoms like dark thoughts or feeling sick). You simply tell the psychiatrist, discontinue use according to his/her instructions and move on to the next medication. Trust the process.

4. Be the confidant your daughter needs. Don’t act shocked when she says something. Just listen and work with the psychiatrist. If you are reactive she will close herself off from you and your ability to help her with meds will go down the toilet.

They say that yes, there are experts, however, YOU are the expert on your daughter. You’ve got this.

[Onthemove1971]

Welcome.. we are always here for you if you need support. We have had great experience with medication, when the type, dose and time given are right, it is life changing. Their personality stays the same, but the symptoms go away.

ADHD can be described as a Ferrari car on roller skates, proper medication slows them down.

We have also needed counseling and an educational plan to assist our son.

In the beginning it is very overwhelming to learn so much and still try to function. Go slow and take deep breaths.

Take care..

[MomOfSuperheroes]

I had the same concern when we first tried medication to help my son. When it came to stimulants, our prescriber started with a very low dose and slowly increased it until we hit a "sweet spot" where my son could focus without suffering troubling side-effects. I think this is not an unusual approach, and while it takes time it helped me feel more confident that it was being done 'right'. We did need to adjust my son's diet for a few months to keep up his weight, but he's doing great now.My husband also takes medication for ADHD, but as an adult he can easily gauge when he needs the support his medication provides; I'm sure that when my son is old enough he'll be able to do the same.